


Water Droplets On Your Skin

by kikirikara



Category: Free!
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, Reader-Insert, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-11
Updated: 2020-03-11
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:27:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,530
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23104720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kikirikara/pseuds/kikirikara
Summary: This is the second season of 'A Bystanders Lover' with Haru as your boyfriendPlease enjoy <3
Relationships: Nanase Haruka/Reader
Kudos: 34





	Water Droplets On Your Skin

You checked the time.   
23:54, what?!, you rubbed your tired eyes and sighed. You looked at all those pictures and albums around you. Most of those pictures showed you and Haru when you were younger. You couldn’t explain that sudden urge that came over you, you just felt like looking at those old pictures.   
You wanted to remember what Haru used to be like and just how close you were. Some pictures showed you sleeping next to each other, holding hands, others showed you playing together.   
Well, he didn’t really change that much, you chuckled. He’s always been kind and caring, he just had some difficulties expressing it, sometimes.   
Why am I thinking about that now?, you wondered. It’s not like that was something new. I mean, he showed how much he cared when he swam that relay with the others a couple of days ago, you remembered.   
Hm… well, I guess I miss him.   
Summer holidays had begun and your parents, who spent their vacation in Iwatobi, asked you to spend some time with them. They took you to a hot spring in town and, even though you messaged your friends daily it wasn’t enough. You were glad that your aunt had found some photo albums and that she had urged you to take them with you. “Just in case, since you’ll be gone for a while”, she’d said. And you were glad that you brought them with you. Looking at them calmed your unsettled heart.   
Seeing Haru lie next to you like that made you almost feel like he was right there with you, at this exact moment.   
Haru…, you couldn’t help but sigh.   
It’s weird, wasn’t it? Why would you think about him so much, all of a sudden? Was it because you remembered that he had tried to protect you from everything? From the SC, so you wouldn’t have to face your fears? Or was it because of that face he makes whenever he’s with you? Was it because of the way he had reacted when he noticed that Rin had hurt you on accident? You couldn’t tell.   
Well, maybe you were overthinking things. Maybe you just missed your friends and wished that they were here with you, too.   
You closed the photo album and decided to go to sleep when you heard your phone ring. You got a message. From Haru.  
Wow, that guy’s timing is ridiculous, you couldn’t help but laugh a little.   
“Are you sleeping?”, he asked. You decided to be honest, even though you knew that he’d worry about you.  
“Nah… I was looking at some old photos. You were really cute when you were a kid, you know”, you teased him, smiling smugly.   
“You should go to sleep soon”, he totally ignored your teasing.  
“And what about you? Why aren’t you sleeping yet? Are you alright?”, you asked.   
“Hm…”, he answered. “I’m having trouble sleeping lately.”  
“What a coincidence, me too”, you laughed a little.   
“I’m surprised that you’re texting me”, you then added. “You don’t use your phone often.”  
“Yeah. I prefer talking to you face to face than using my phone.”  
“Sorry… for not being able to talk to you face to face”, you really wanted to hear his voice.   
“Don’t be. Just hurry home”, you felt your body heat up when you read those words. Did that mean that he missed you, too? Did he want to see you just as much as you wanted to see him?  
“Yeah…”, you stared at your phone after texting him. You were expecting something but you didn’t know exactly what.   
You sighed, there were no more messages from him, so you dropped your phone on the futon. You cleared to floor from the photos and albums.  
“Are you okay, honey?”, you haven’t noticed that your parents had entered the room. They looked at you with concern.   
“Why aren’t you sleeping yet?”  
“What about you two?”, you asked.   
“Well, we got carried away playing Table Tennis”, your mother laughed, embarrassed. They then took a seat beside you and looked at you. There was worry in their eyes. They had changed. They hadn’t had time for questions like that in the past. But they showed you how sorry they were and that that year apart from you made them realize how much they needed you.   
“Is there something on your mind? I know, we had it rough and didn’t have much time for you… but we want to change that now-… so-…”, they told you that at least twice a day. It made you feel hot and cold at the same time.  
“Why now…?”, you asked, your voice trembling a little. They embraced you tightly, knowing that you held your tears back.  
“We’re sorry. We are so sorry… we should have been there from the very start”, your mother whispered, stroking your back gently.  
“I know that you got me really young… and I understand that you’d had it rough, but-…”  
“I know, I know. You don’t have to say anything, we made so many mistakes”, your father kissed your temple.   
“Will you give us another change?”, they both took a hold of your hands and looked at you pleadingly. They did mean every word they said, you knew that. But sometimes they feel like strangers to you.  
“Yeah…”, but you still loved them. They both sighed in relief and hugged you tightly. You stayed like this for a while.   
“So… do you want to talk about something?”, your mother then asked.  
“Hm… well…”, was that something worth talking about, you wondered. You just felt homesick.   
“I-… I don’t know… I want to see my friends…”, your parents exchanged looks.   
“We really are selfish, huh… taking you away from your friends… if we would have taken you back to Tokyo, you would have suffered miserably, right…?”, your father stroked your head.  
“I guess you… could say that”, you didn’t want to think about that. It made you feel lonely.   
“I want to see Haru…”, you mumbled, seeking comfort in your mothers embrace.   
“You were really close when you were children, I remember”, she said. Then she chuckled softly.  
“You were a tiny bit in love with him, we thought”, your heart clenched at her words. Memories flooded your head, every single touch from Haru, every word and every gentle look came back to your mind. You felt your cheeks heat and you looked at your mother in shocked realization.   
“I-…”  
“Oh dear…”, your mother returned that look of realization, your father was the only one who didn’t get what was going on.  
“What? “Oh dear” what?”, he asked.   
“Shhhh, go to sleep, sweety and I need to talk”, your mother urged him to leave the two of you alone.   
“No way!”  
“But-… I can’t be in love with him… we are friends… we are like siblings, he would never-…”, tears welled up. You felt your chest tighten, knowing that Haru would never return your feelings – if they were feelings of love.   
“Oh dear…”, your father understood now what was going on.   
“No, it’s probably nothing”, you rubbed your eyes and decided to deny what you were feeling. It was probably nothing. Right?  
“I just miss them a little, is all”, you smiled weakly at your mother. She looked at you with sad eyes.  
“Let’s take you to them tomorrow then, hm?”, you shook your head vehemently. Your parents wanted to spend more time with you, you didn’t want to disappoint them. Besides, this time with your parents was precious to you.   
“No, we don’t have to-“  
“It’s fine. We don’t have to spend our vacation here. We can go back to auntie’s place and bother her for some time”, your mother winked at you.  
“You want to see Haru, right?”, you felt your cheeks burn. But why? Why did you want to see Haru so badly? Why did the thought of that make your cheeks burn? You were only friends after all. There was no way you could have feelings for Haru.   
You admitted defeat with a sigh.  
“I don’t know why…”  
“Well, sometimes you have to be separated from the ones you love to notice just how much you love them”, your father said. You couldn’t help but sigh again.  
“Go to sleep now. We’re leaving tomorrow, okay?”, it didn’t seem like they’d give in so you nodded.   
“Okay… I’m sorry.”  
“Don’t be”, your mother kissed your forehead.  
“There’s something important on your mind after all, right?”, you nodded.  
You let yourself fall back in your futon, the lights got turned off but the moon shone through the opened sliding doors. Its light fell on the photo albums. Your heart started racing so you put your hand on your chest to calm it.   
Haru won’t return my feelings…, you looked at the moon outside.   
Its light was bright, blindingly so. 

We’re on our way home, you had the urge to message Haru the next day.  
When will you arrive?, he replied immediately even though he didn’t use his phone often.  
In around 45 minutes.  
He didn’t answer. You leaned your forehead against the window of the train. The sun shone brightly and the glass felt warm to the touch.   
How should I face him? Should I-, no, I shouldn’t tell him. Act normal. Yeah. That sounds like a plan. 

“Hey! Heeey! Look, there she is!”, you heard a loud and familiar voice as soon as you got off the train. It was Nagisa’s voice.   
“Oh dear… we’re leaving, then, good luck”, your mother patted your shoulder and your parents left in a hurry. They didn’t give you any chance to protest. At least they took your luggage with them.  
Nagisa rushed towards you and threw his arms around you.   
“It’s been so long, we’ve missed you!”, he looked at you with a worried look. You couldn’t help but chuckle. It hadn’t been that long but you shared his feelings.   
“Welcome back!”, Rei and Makoto caught up with Nagisa and you immediately greeted them with a hug. No, it hadn’t been that long but it sure felt like it.   
After exchanging greetings with them you started to nervously look around. You looked for Haru but you couldn’t find him.   
“How was the hot spring?”, Makoto asked. He looked at you with worry.  
Ah, he probably noticed that I’m looking for Haru, your cheeks flushed a little as you smiled at him.  
“Relaxing. I was able to take a much needed break from my responsibilities”, you chuckled awkwardly. You couldn’t keep your eyes from darting to and fro.   
“Hey, where is-“  
“Haru is-“  
“Hey”, your heart recognized that voice long before your mind was able to and it fluttered in response. You turned around to see that Haru stand right behind you. Those blue eyes of his were fixated on you and there was a gentle smile on his lips.   
“Welcome home”, he said gently and you felt your cheeks flush.   
“I-I’m back”, you answered stiffly and avoided his gaze. Your cheeks grew hot, you didn’t dare to look at him or greet him with a hug like the others. You just stood there in awkward silence.   
“Do you guys need some time alone?”  
“NO!!”, you had no control over your voice. Nagisa looked at you suspiciously.   
“Are you sure?”, he teased, smiling at you.   
He knows! I’m busted!   
“A-Anyway! Thanks for picking me up, let’s go now, okay?”, you didn’t wait for a response, you just rushed past your friends.   
Urgh, why do I have to be so awkward! So much for acting normal!  
But even though Haru made you nervous you also felt at ease. Seeing Haru felt like coming home. It was strange.   
“Hey, are you okay?”, Haru had caught up to you and walked beside you. He looked at you with worry in his eyes.  
“Uh-… yeah. Just a little tired from the trip.”  
“I see”, he frowned.   
He doesn’t believe me.   
“Is there something on your mind?”, his gentle voice sent shivers down your spine and you felt the urge to be honest with him. But you couldn’t tell him about your feelings so you decided to push him away.  
“I-uh… I can’t talk about it now…”, you lowered your voice and glanced over your shoulder. The other boys talked and laughed, they didn’t seem to notice that Haru and you were talking. Haru looked at them, then he looked back at you.   
“Do you want to come over to my place?”, your skin tingled, you got goosebumps. You looked at Haru, eyes wide with surprise. Sure, you’d been at Haru’s place quite often, but that was when you were still children. It’s been a while since you payed him a visit. Now that you thought about it, you haven’t visited him at all ever since the last relay. Besides, Haru usually didn’t invite others. You guys just barged in without asking him, he never seemed to mind.  
“Are you sure?”, you weren’t sure if you could act like nothing was bothering you when you’d be this close to Haru. What if you couldn’t keep your thoughts to yourself? But at the same time, you could use this as a chance to test your feelings for him. Maybe they were sisterly feelings after all.   
Haru nodded, not saying anything. You thought about it. Wouldn’t that be dangerous? If your tongue would slip, you’d never be able to turn back again.   
“Okay”, you tried to sound determined.   
I have to confirm my feelings.   
“Hey, Mako-chan, Rei-chan and I want to go to the beach tomorrow. You guys are coming with us, right?”, Nagisa suddenly pushed himself in between you and Haru. He was teasing you with a grin. Now you were sure that he had looked right through your charade.   
“Sure..”, you sulked and shot him a glare for teasing you with his smile, which made him grin.   
“So~… what were you guys talking about? Seems like someone has something to say”, Nagisa nudged you gently and you couldn’t help but nudge him back.   
“Did you hear anything, Haru?”  
“No”, Haru supported you and ignored Nagisa’s attempts of teasing.   
“Ah, by the way, is Makoto okay with going to the beach?”, you tried to forget about your troubles for a while but you couldn’t help but worry about Makoto.  
“Yeah… it’s his idea, actually”, Nagisa looked worried at first but then he smiled.   
Well, I guess it’s okay then, you looked over your shoulder and studied Makoto for a while. 

Since Rei and Nagisa had to catch their train they were the first to leave. The sun was already setting as you walked between Haru and Makoto. You didn’t say anything and simply enjoyed that pleasant silence. Just feeling their presence was enough.   
“Should we take you home?”, Makoto asked, his voice was gentle and he smiled at you fondly when you looked up at him.   
“Ah-… actually… I’m going over to Haru’s place…”, you mumbled, avoiding his gaze as you felt your cheeks heat up again.   
“Ah…”, he sounded slightly surprised. When you looked up to meet his eyes again he avoided you.  
“I see…”, his smile seemed to tremble ever so slightly in the setting sun’s red light.   
“Makoto, are you-“  
“Well, see you tomorrow”, Makoto interrupted you. You haven’t noticed that you had reached his home.   
“Ah, see you tomorrow!”, you and Haruka watched him enter the Tachibana’s home before you started to climb the stairs to Haru’s. Your heart started racing and you felt your hands tremble slightly. You tried to ignore all that.   
“Do-… Do you think he’s nervous because of tomorrow’s beach trip?”, you asked Haru. You weren’t able to forget Makoto’s trembling smile. And one look at Haru told you that he couldn’t either.   
“Haru?”, shouldn’t things be back to normal again? What did those troubled faces mean?  
You grabbed Haru’s arm and forced him to look at you.   
“Haru, what’s wrong?”, he looked at you. There was a storm raging behind his blue eyes, your heart trembled when you saw how serious he looked.   
“Let’s go inside first.”  
Seems like he doesn’t want to make a scene… Why is he being so serious?, you entered his home without protesting, took off your shoes and followed him. He led you to the living room and sat himself on the tatami mats. You weren’t sure what to do so you just stood there and wringed your hands.  
Haru looked at you with gentle eyes.   
“Sit”, it wasn’t an order, you knew that but you couldn’t help but obey. You couldn’t relax. You felt Haru’s eyes all over you.   
“There’s something bothering you…”, Haru said and you looked at him. Those raging emotions hadn’t left his heart either, you could tell. He usually wouldn’t pry if he knew that you really didn’t want him to. It seems like he noticed that you needed some help though, so he didn’t want to ignore your feelings.  
“What about you?”, you dodged his words with a question and he avoided your gaze. He didn’t have to say anything, you knew you were right.   
“Tell me about it…”, you said gently. Seeing him bothered hurt you and you wanted to help him. You decided to move closer so you’d sit next to him. Your hands were almost touching, you felt his warmth but you didn’t dare to move because you were afraid of touching him. He was so close.  
“We might be worried about the same thing…”, your heart skipped a beat at his words. Haru knew your thoughts and feelings just as well as you knew his. There was no use in hiding any of that, you came to understand that when he looked at you with earnest eyes.   
“I don’t know what you’re thinking, Haru…”, your voice trembled as you desperately tried to read his mind. You didn’t know why you always could tell what he was thinking except for that exact moment. Even though you needed to know what he was thinking, you couldn’t. It was frustrating.   
Haru moved his hand closer to yours, his fingertips brushed yours and you felt your skin tingle.   
This isn’t enough…  
You moved your hand slowly as if not to alert him. Your fingers slid between his. His warmth washed over you like an uncontrollable wave and you felt your heart rate speed up.  
“Haru…”, you sighed. “I missed you…”, taking your words as some kind of permission he took your hand in his and looked at you gently as if he tried to tell you that he had felt the same.  
“I really missed you… not the same way I missed the others… it was different…”, all those emotions you’d tried to ignore suddenly burst out of you and you couldn’t do anything about it.   
“Haru, I-…”, his eyes widened slightly and his cheeks reddened a little.   
Ah… he understands now… and he’s happy about it?  
But then he turned away from you and let go of your hand. He stood up and left the room.  
“Haru!”, what was going on? He knew about your feelings already, right? Wasn’t he happy about it? Did you mistook his reaction for happiness?   
“Wait, Haru!”, there was no turning back. You jumped to your feet and chased after Haru but he wouldn’t stop for you. He entered the kitchen and stopped at the sink. He supported himself on the kitchen counter. Haru seemed bothered, he didn’t know what to do.   
Your eyes began to burn, you took his silence for rejection.   
You were right.   
He didn’t return your feelings. And he never would. Tears welled up, you looked down so he wouldn’t see them.  
“It’s fine if you don’t return my feelings! To be honest, I thought that it would go like this. You’d never return my feelings, I know…”, you chuckled bitterly. You knew that things would go this way but it still hurt. Being ignored like that by the person you love hurt badly.   
Haru didn’t say a thing.   
“Well… I leave then… good nigh-…”  
“Wait”, you were about to leave the room when you felt his hand grab your arm. When you looked up at him he saw your tear-filled eyes. His eyes widened once more, he seemed surprised at first, then frustrated.  
“I’m sorry…”, he put his hands on your shoulders and pulled you closer.  
“No, don’t be, it’s my fault for acting strange-“, you tried to get some distance between you but he wouldn’t let you.  
“No, that’s not it… I’m sorry for being afraid of being honest”, there was determination in his eyes and you knew that he wanted to hold you close just as much as you wanted him to hold you.   
“Makoto seems to like you, so-…”, his words took you by surprise.  
“Makoto? Why would he-“, but Haru seemed sure of it.  
“Should we ask him, then…?”, you didn’t know what to do. You wanted to be with Haru but you didn’t want to hurt Makoto. You had to know if what Haru had said was true.   
“Together?”, you added, taking his hand in yours and squeezing it encouragingly. Haru sighed, feeling the weight on his shoulders lift.  
“Yeah…”, he nodded and finally dared to close the distance between you. His face got closer, then your foreheads touched. You put your arms around his neck and pressed your body against his. Haru put his arms tightly around you and closed his eyes, enjoying your warmth.   
“I was so scared… I wasn’t sure if my feelings for you were wrong… I was sure that you’d reject me”, Haru shook his head gently before you could finish speaking.   
“Then… you return my feelings?”, you asked, your chest filled with hope.   
“Do you need to ask…?”, his cheeks reddened slightly.  
“No… I think I already know… but I want to hear you say it…”, you held him closer and looked straight at him. His eyes were still closed.  
“Even though I haven’t heard it from you yet, either…”, he sighed but he smiled gently.  
“I like you, Haru… I love you…”, you lowered your voice even though there was no one but Haru here with you. You felt him stiffen slightly but then he tightened his embrace. His lips brushed over your cheek, moved to your ear.  
“Yeah… me too”, his whisper sent shivers down your spine and when he started to whisper your name you knew that he did that on purpose.   
“Haru~”, you chuckled and gently pushed him away from you.   
“What?”, he looked at you with earnest and gentle eyes. His face was way too serious, maybe he thought that he did something wrong.   
You sighed lovingly and brushed the tip of his nose with yours.  
“Nothing…”  
“What’s with that…”, he smiled softly, also touching your nose with his, giving you a gentle nose kiss.   
I really do love him, you were sure now. You felt at peace with him by your side and you knew that he felt the same. You stayed for a while in each other’s embrace before parting.  
“I’ll take you home”, he said when he noticed how late it had gotten.   
“You don’t have to…”  
“I don’t mind…”, he offered you his hand. With one look in his eyes you could tell that he really wanted to take you home.   
“Okay then…”, you chuckled and took his hand. You left his home together. Night had already fallen and you could see the stars shine above.   
“Look… the sky is so clear…”, Haru followed your eyes. A small smile appeared on his lips.   
“Yeah… the stars are so bright…”, he said softly and squeezed your hand. Your heart jumped. It felt like your hearts were connected through your palms.   
When you passed Makoto’s home again you couldn’t help but think about him. Was Haru right? Did Makoto have feelings for you?   
“We’ll talk to Makoto tomorrow”, Haru knew exactly what you were thinking. He always knew. Having him support you made you feel at ease.   
You looked back at the stars and snuggled closer to Haru’s arm.  
“Do you remember? We used to hold hands like this quite often”, he then said, smiling fondly. It seemed like he was looking at a far off memory.   
“Yeah… I do remember… It’s kind of embarrassing to think about it, though”, you chuckled.   
“I even used to call you Haru-nii… geeze, what was I thinking…?”, you felt your cheeks heat up and you tried to avoid Haru’s eyes.   
“We were children”, well, he had a point.   
When you looked at him you saw that he was smiling at you gently. His eyes seemed to say something like “You were cute”. You weren’t sure if that was just your imagination but you couldn’t help but blush anyway. Haru sometimes had trouble expressing his feelings. Sometimes he used words, sometimes gestures to express himself. Sometimes he was too embarrassed to use words but even then his embarrassment showed clearly on his face. Thinking that you were cute didn’t seem to embarrass him at all.   
“Ah, well… we sure grew up, didn’t we. We came a long way…”, you laughed, feeling a little nostalgic.  
“We still have a long way to go”, Haru seemed to have noticed your feelings.  
“Together”, he squeezed your hand and looked at you with earnest eyes.   
“Yeah…”  
Haru leaned down so he could put his forehead on yours again with a content sigh. It seemed like he liked doing that.   
Time passed too quickly and you soon arrived at home. However, you didn’t want to part from Haru that quickly. And he felt the same, you knew that.  
“Thanks for taking me home… take care…”, you took his hands in yours and squeezed them. He smiled at you gently, his eyes were filled with love.  
“I love you…”, you thought that it was important to remind him and yourself of that so you wouldn’t start doubting your feelings.  
Haru blushed slightly.   
“Me too…”, it was mere a whisper but you felt a shiver run down your spine. Your gaze fell on his lips and you started to wonder. What would Haru’s kiss feel like? What would it taste like?  
“Haru…”, you sighed as you got on your tiptoes and put your hand on his shoulder.   
Is it alright to kiss him? Or should I ask for his consent first?  
“Oh my, oh my”, you flinched when you heard a familiar voice. Your aunt and parents had opened the door slightly and peered at you.   
“You take your eyes off her for one second and she shows up with a boyfriend, look at that”, heat rushed to your face.  
“God, what is wrong with you guys!”, you tried to close the door so you could spend some more alone time with Haru but he gently put his hand on your shoulder. You looked at him to see that he wore an honest and serious expression.   
“Allow me to take your beloved daughter and niece as my girlfriend, please”, he even bowed.   
“Wow, how honest…”, your aunt and parents exchanged looks.  
“Well, we’ve known you since you were little but… we still need to see how serious he is, don’t we?”, it was your aunt who proposed that, of course. But Haru didn’t flinch. He kept on looking at them with serious eyes. It was embarrassing to see how determined he was.  
“Hmm… well…”, your mother hummed.  
“Come on guys, don’t give them such a hard time, leave them be”, your father tried to help you out but they talked over him.  
“We can’t just give her to any guy…”  
“He’s not just any guy! He’s Haru and I fell in love with him!”, your mother and aunt smiled at you and for the first time in your life you thought that they looked alike.   
“If that’s the case we can’t say much, can we… well, not that we planned on forcing you to prove you’re serious… we were just teasing you”, your aunt’s laugh sounded like a witch’s.   
“Unbelievable…”, you sighed and looked at Haru. His shoulders relaxed and he seemed relieved. Well, telling your parents and aunt about you and Haru hadn’t been part of the plan yet but, oh well.   
“Thank you for your support, I’ll treasure her”, he bowed again.  
“Oh, don’t be so formal, son in law!”  
“Mom! That’s it, go back inside!”, you shoved them back inside and closed the door behind them.  
“I am so sorry Haru…”, but he only shook his head. You felt a gentle tug on your arm, he pulled you closer.  
“Good night…”, his voice was close, you felt his breath tickle your ear. You couldn’t help but blush.  
“Yeah, good night, Haru…”, you gave him a bright smile. You felt his fingers slip through yours, he seemed reluctant but he let go of your hand.   
His warmth still lingered, though.

Your mother and aunt started squealing as soon as you entered the house.  
“Urgh, you guys are so sweet, it’s making me sick”, your aunt teased. She grabbed your arm and pulled you in for a bear hug.   
“I always knew that you guys would hook up some day”, you felt embarrassed but you had to chuckle at their enthusiasm.  
“What? Aren’t you happy?”, they looked at you with skepticism.   
“I am happy, yeah… I just haven’t processed it yet, I think”, you chuckled. Haru returned your feelings.   
I still can’t believe it, heat rushed to your cheeks. At first he was a childhood friend of yours then he became your boyfriend.   
Can’t get any more clichéd and cheesier than that, you smiled softly. It was your very own cliché.   
You waltzed around the house, looking forward to meeting your friends at the beach tomorrow. You forgot about the scary vastness of the sea for now and looked forward to swimming with Haru. 

The next day greeted you with sunshine and heat. Summer was here and it was merciless. So you decided to pack sunscreen in your favorite bag. The anemone keychain dangled peacefully as you prepared for the day. You were sure that the beach had some bathing cabins but you decided to put your swimsuit on right away. Since you haven’t had the chance to buy any other swimsuit you decided to use the one you used for swimming practice.   
You just finished preparing when your phone suddenly rang. It was a message from Haru.  
“We’ll come to meet you”  
“We” probably meant “Makoto and I”. You got excited at that thought but you also grew anxious. Would Makoto accept your relationship? What if Haru was right and Makoto indeed had feelings for you? What were you supposed to do then? Stop dating Haru?  
Your heart ached at that thought.  
I don’t want that… but if Makoto has feelings for me, we don’t have a choice, you couldn’t help but sigh.  
“Honey?”, you heard your mother call.  
“Haru and Makoto-kun are here to pick you up!”, you flinched at those words.  
Damn, they are fast. Did Haru sent that message when they were already on their way to your house?  
“I-I’m coming!”, you grabbed your bag, the anemone fish keychain dangled softly as you rushed down the stairs.   
“I’m off!”, you didn’t want to give your family a chance to tease you so you left in a hurry. Haru and Makoto waited for you outside, they looked at the sea and seemed to talk about something. It seemed like it was a serious talk.   
You approached them slowly, not wanting to disturb them but Makoto must have noticed you. He turned around and greeted you with a genuine smile, his cheeks were slightly red.   
“Morning, you two”, seeing Makoto smile like that made you feel at ease and you were able to also greet them with a smile.   
“Morning…”, Haru looked at you, then turned to look at the sea again. His cheeks flushed a little.  
“Isn’t it great that we’re able to swim?”, you looked at Haru teasingly. Reading his mind got easier all the time. He didn’t answer but his cheeks reddened some more. Knowing that Makoto knew what you were thinking about you turned to him and smiled. He chuckled softly.  
If Makoto had feelings for you it would be the last time you were able to smile like that together.   
“Let’s go?”, Makoto gently asked. Haru and you started to follow him. You looked at Haru, he looked at you. He was having the same thoughts you did, you knew that.   
Should we tell him now?, you wondered. Haru didn’t have an answer, so he turned his face away.   
“Makoto-“  
“I’m glad”, Makoto interrupted Haru. He probably knew what he was going to say. Makoto stopped walking and turned towards you. His eyes were bright, his smile was warm.  
“I’m really glad that you two were able to notice your feelings for each other”, Haru and you blushed at Makoto’s words.  
“So-… so you knew?”, you asked in surprise.  
“Well… I had a feeling”, he looked at you with gentle eyes. Haru and you exchanged looks.   
“So… are you okay with that?”, Makoto blinked in surprise at Haru’s words.  
“Why wouldn’t I be?”  
You weren’t able to answer that question. Makoto seemed alright. He didn’t seem to lie.   
“You know that you can talk to us if you’re feeling uneasy”, you voiced Haru’s and your thoughts.  
“Yeah, I know… hm, well…”, Makoto seemed to choose his words wisely. He looked lonely and unsure as if he wasn’t sure if he should tell you.  
“Please, tell us about your feelings, Makoto. Be honest with us, you know you can voice your feelings”, you encouraged him, hoping that it would help him to make up his mind. And it seemed to work.  
“Well… to be honest, I had a feeling that you two felt like that for a while now… and… it frightened me a little… I guess… If you two would date, would there be any changes? I wondered if I would have to stop to be Haru’s friend… if I would have to stop picking him up from home or if I would still have the right to visit him…”, Makoto didn’t dare to look you in the eyes so he lowered his gaze. You had a feeling that he had thought about that.  
You put your hand gently on his arm and stepped forward so he had to look at you.   
“Nothing will change. You are our beloved friend, you can visit Haru whenever you want to, pick him up whenever you want to. I don’t mind, of course. And maybe we can pick him up together, if you don’t mind”, you smiled at him encouragingly. You hoped that your words were enough to show him that he had no reason to fear.   
Makoto smiled happily at you and put his hand on yours.  
“Yeah, let’s do that.”  
So it wasn’t like Makoto had feelings for you. He just feared that he would be left behind once Haru and you started dating. Well, you couldn’t blame him.   
You looked at Haru who smiled at you gently.   
“Seems like I was wrong…”, Haru softly said.  
“About what?”, Makoto asked and looked at him with curiosity.   
“I thought that you looked sad yesterday when I invited her to my place. So I thought you had feelings for her”, Makoto blushed furiously and gasped.  
“N-N-N-No!”, Makoto stuttered in embarrassment.   
“No! I-… I was just afraid, I guess. I didn’t want to be left behind…”, he smiled absentmindedly and lowered his gaze again.   
“We won’t leave you behind”, Haru’s voice was gentle but firm.   
“Yeah…”, seemed like everything turned out alright. You couldn’t help but chuckle in relief. You started walking again, Haru, you and Makoto in between to show him that he still was a part of you. That moment reminded you of all those families, parents and child, walking hand in hand with the child safely in between.  
“Well…”, you sighed.  
“It seems like we’re a real family now. Haru, me and Makoto, our cute child”, Makoto and Haru blushed.  
Ark, the hell did I just say?!  
“I-I mean!! HAHAHAHA! JUST KIDDING!!!”, you gave an exaggerated laugh and couldn’t stop yourself from panicking.   
You looked at Haru, fearing that he was disgusted by your words. His cheeks still were slightly red and he didn’t look at you but he seemed happy. You knew what he was thinking.  
A family like that wouldn’t be too bad. 

“Ooooh! Look who finally decided to show up!!!”, Nagisa cheered and waved at the three of you with enthusiasm.   
“What a cute little family.”  
He knows…, you couldn’t shake the feeling that Nagisa saw right through you.   
“Well, did we miss something?”, Rei and Kou who stood next to him didn’t seem to know what he was talking about.  
He definitely knows…, you started to sweat – not because of the summer heat.   
“W-Weeell…”, you chuckled and looked at Haru who avoided your eyes as if he wanted to say something like “Don’t drag me into this”.  
But you are already involved, Haru!!, you protested in your thoughts, knowing that he knew exactly what you were thinking. But it didn’t seem like he would give you a hand. Probably because he knew that Kou, Nagisa or Rei wouldn’t judge you. He knew that they would accept your relationship so he didn’t know why you’d make such a fuss about it.   
“Well…”, but you still had to tell them.  
“Seems like… Haru and I started… dating?”, your voice grew fainter the more you talked.  
“Maybe?”, you added, hoping they wouldn’t kill you.  
“Hah!!! I knew it!”, Nagisa already knew, of course.   
“Okay, Rei-chan, you lost, you owe me a nice Iwatobi cream bread!”, Rei cried out on horror.  
I can’t believe it! They actually betted?!   
“Oh, by the way, my big brother is going to show up, too! You need to tell him, too”, Kou chirped in. Seemed like Kou already knew that Haru and you had feelings for each other, too.   
“Okay, guys, Haru and I just started dating yesterday. How did you-?”  
“Well, wasn’t it obvious?”, Nagisa asked.   
“Yeah, Rin said that you guys seemed like you had feelings for each other, too”, Kou added.  
“What?! Even Rin?!”  
“Yeah, I thought that it was kinda obvious”, you flinched when you heard Rin’s voice behind you. When you turned to look at him he greeted you with a soft smile.  
“Haru seemed lonely when you were on your trip to the hot springs so I had a feeling that he-… you know”, his eyes seemed to beg you to not make him say it out loud so you didn’t. You didn’t have to.  
“Rin”, Haru protested, his voice soft yet firm.   
You looked at Haru but he avoided your gaze. His cheeks reddened a little. Your heart jumped.  
So cute…   
“Well then… Let’s get wet!”, Nagisa cheered and started to undress.   
Seemed like there was no reason for worrying about your friends’ blessing. You exchanged looks with Haru and couldn’t help but smile.   
Somehow, your future seemed brighter than before.


End file.
